Apparently the frustration of bored Atlanta newspaper readers has gone national. Many people in the Atlanta area have grown tired of reading column after column after blog after blog where the AJC’s Mark Bradley has gone after Georgia Tech men’s basketball coach Paul Hewitt, seeking change and picking on the once-proud Tech basketball program. I’ve spent many column inches begging Mark Bradley to stop his incessant Fire Mark Richt/Paul Hewitt blogs and articles and come up with something else. CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated college basketball reporter Seth Davis finally had enough and went after Bradley for railing on Hewitt. Last Monday via Twitter, Davis remarked:
“I've never seen a sports columnist repeatedly attack a coach w/ venom like Mark Bradley of AJC attacks Paul Hewitt. I say Fire Bradley 1st “
Have I been critical of Hewitt on my radio show before? Yes. But do I do it EVERY time Georgia Tech plays? No. I keep the topics fresh, even when the inevitable deluge of Fire Hewitt calls starts, we steer the conversation to a fresh perspective. Do I have a personal problem with something Hewitt said about the Atlanta media the way Bradley seems to have? No. Just like I have my opinion, Hewitt is allowed to have his. He can say what he chooses the same way I do. But after a while it just gets tired, Bradley.
This is a piece of the blog/article/column he wrote after Virginia beat Tech last week:
“Another Tech loss, and at its end there came no cascade of boos. There was only more of the numbness that has come to enshroud this once buoyant program. I feel for Tech fans. I feel for Tech players, who are trying hard with not much to show for it. I feel for everyone involved in this bleak tableau. There’s nothing fun here.”
In speaking about the potential Twitter war (Bradley had not responded via Tweet as of Tuesday afternoon), 680 The Fan’s Sandra Golden gave an inside look at the potential start of the Bradley-Hates-Hewitt campaign. The newest member of The Rude Awakening revealed that several years ago Hewitt made the claim that he didn’t read the newspaper and when asked why, responded because of the columnist. Presumably he was speaking about Bradley and he has since taken more shots at Hewitt than he has at Mark Richt and the Atlanta Hawks combined. I guess Bradley should be flattered that he at least has one national reader. But I also guess he might want to let up a tad with the “venom” otherwise Davis’s more than 360,000 Twitter followers might weigh in with the AJC.
While it seems Sandra Golden has been fitting in quite nicely with 680 the Fan and her new Rude Awakening co-hosts, one of her former co-hosts took a head-scratching stand on the NFL non-guaranteed contracts. Steak Shapiro of Mayhem in the AM was discussing the non-guaranteed nature of contracts in the NFL vs. the guaranteed deals in the NBA and in Major League Baseball. He was attempting to argue (I am SURE this was strictly done to play “disagreeable radio host”) that the NFL should guarantee contracts like the NBA does and the MLB does. One of his co-hosts pointed out how the guaranteed deals hurt the NBA, but Steak retorted that the NBA is pulling in outstanding numbers. I must agree with Chris and Nick: the numbers in the NBA aren’t tied to the contracts and just so happen to be up because the superstars have finally turned into superduperstars. The NBA guaranteed contracts hamstring teams every year and while there are creative ways to sometimes get around the salary cap, bad deals cripple a team for years while an NFL “bad contract” can be immediately killed off. The NFL is popular BECAUSE of the contract situation with people always playing their way into one of potentially out of one. If a guy doesn’t work, cut him and pay the small guaranteed amount while going and getting a new guy. Yes it stinks for the football players that their contracts aren’t guaranteed, but sometimes that works both ways: the players like to holdout for more money too. Don’t forget that it sometimes works in their favor.
A quick congrats to 680 The Fan’s drive home show and its co-hosts Buck Belue and John Kincade of Buck & Kincade for its recent passing of the 2500 show-mark. These two are true professionals and can be serious or funny, casual or formal in the same segment and it is truly a treat to drive home to these guys five days a week. The pairing may seem unlikely: a Valdosta kid turned UGA quarterback turned talk show host with a Philly guy turned “carpetbagger” but these two really make it work. I hope that they will be rocking and rolling and talking sports for at least another 2500 shows.
680 The Fan and its family of networks have plunged right back into Braves baseball in its second season serving as the flagship of Atlanta baseball. Buck & Kincade, Chuck & Chernoff and The Rude Awakening will be rotating down in Orlando with Belue helping to call some spring training games. Hopefully with one year under his belt, he’ll be a little more comfortable in the baseball broadcast booth. Last year’s experiment was a bit rough. Here’s hoping 2011 is better.
Finally, Georgia State fans were probably sighing with a side of eye-rolling after finding out that the AJC finally gave its basketball program some publicity…only to find it was to announce that the head coach had received the boot. The Panthers fans shouldn’t worry though: even if the AJC decides not to really care about Georgia State, Score Atlanta will be right here, updating the web and featuring Dave Cohen in the paper. If the AJC lets you down, turn to us.
Can You Believe He Said That
“I see myself not just as a football player but as an entertainer and an icon.”
That was former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton right before his performance at the NFL combine. So you’re an icon? An entertainer? Wow, that is great info. Could this guy be anymore full of himself? As a fan of a team drafting in the top ten, I hope “my team” decides to go more for a QUARTERBACK than an entertainer. Last time I checked Madonna never threw a touchdown pass. Get a grip on reality Cam, otherwise your career is going to have the curtain dropped on it…in a hurry. Entertainer? Try just throwing an out route.
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